Give a little bit

With the holidays quickly approaching, there are many out there who are wondering how they will provide a traditional Thanksgiving or Christmas meal to their families. There are parents and guardians who are worried if they will have enough money left after paying bills to buy Christmas presents for their children.

Thanksgiving and Christmas are holidays centered around family, about counting your blessings and remembering others who are less fortunate. In that frame of mind, we encourage our readers to give serious thought to helping others this holiday season.

There are many local organizations who are working tirelessly to give area families what they will need to make the holidays special for their families, making sure no child will be left hungry or without a gift underneath the tree. Several local churches will provide meals for families and individuals who may not have the resources to make their own holiday meal.

There are toy drives for children, a program to collect clothing and hygiene items for teenagers, the Salvation Army will soon begin ringing their bells and numerous other drives will be under way in the coming days and weeks. The pantries of local food banks will also feel the pinch of higher demands at a time when they are aready seeing increases in the number of people they help each day.

Big gestures are great, but those small donations that come in at $1, $5 and $10 at a time are just as necessary to local organizations who have to scrimp, save and sacrifice to try and meet their goal of helping others.

So as you are out shopping for your holiday meals, think about adding a few more canned food items to the basket to share with a local food bank. Maybe you can set aside a few dollars to give to one of your favorite charities. If you pass a tree that has cards with the names and Christmas wishes of child, think about pulling one off the tree and making those wishes come true.

You might find that the saying “It is better to give than to receive” is true.